BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — It is now Day 3 of the USS The Sullivans ship, taking on water, at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park.
A press conference was held to discuss the progress being made and addressing the concerns and conditions of the ship.
GALLERY: USS THE SULLIVANS SINKING IN BUFFALO AND ERIE COUNTY NAVAL AND MILITARY PARK
Mayor Byron Brown explained there is a unified effort on the part of the Naval Park, the Coast Guard, the City of Buffalo and Erie County, Saturday.
Part of the salvaging plan includes removing all contaminants that may still be in the ship and stabilizing the incident, which appears to be deeper in the water as the days progress.
"There are divers that are part of BitCo. currently skimming inside of the tank," United States Coast Guard Commander Bill McKinstry said. "Pulling the product out of the vessel and bringing it onto a tank, if you will, to be disposable. At this point, there have been 2,525 gallons of product that have been pulled off of the vessel. It continues. That process is still continuing."
Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park president, Paul Marzello said, "We will be adding two more members to this team. Starting Monday, a large international commercial Marine salvage company and two, a Navy architect. As the Mayor stated, this is a very complicated process and we are making sure that we get an expert team involved to make sure we do it right."
During the press conference, Mayor Brown added that the entire operation will be an expensive one, in order to save the national landmark.
"Literally hundreds, maybe thousands at this point, of people have come down to see the ship, but we're encouraging people to follow the safety procedures. Stay behind the protective fencing. That is important for the safety of the public, but also for the safety of the workers on the site," Mayor Brown said.
He said the weather conditions over the last three days have made the process difficult.
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